INSIDE THE Q: Strong group of Europeans on their way to the Q this season

Halifax Mooseheads' star Jonathan Drouin, seen here at the national junior team selection camp in December, is determined to make the Tampa Bay Lightning roster this season. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / File)

The CHL import draft is almost always filled with names most people have never heard before.

At this time last year not many knew anything about Nikolaj Ehlers but he’s a household name now after a phenomenal rookie season with the Halifax Mooseheads that pushed him into the top 10 at the NHL draft. I know I didn’t know much about him last summer and I can also admit I know next to nothing about most of the players picked in this year’s import draft.

But fortunately there are scouts I know who have been following these kids for a year or two already and I trust their opinions enough to know this is a good looking crop. Based on the preliminary 2015 NHL draft rankings from Red Line Report, this could be the best group in years.

In addition, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles’ second-round pick from last year, winger Evgeny Svechnikov, is ranked 14th. He didn’t come to Sydney last year but has committed for this season.

How those players perform in the Q this season will depend largely on how well they adjust to life in North America. But if all of them happen to make a smooth transition and live up to their current billing, we will be treated to a special influx of talent.

Drouin in right frame of mind

It was interesting to read some of Jonathan Drouin’s comments from the Tampa Bay Lightning’s development camp last week.

In more than one article, Drouin spoke with some conviction about how he doesn’t want to come back to major junior for yet another season. That may not sound like such big news to anyone who has followed his incredible QMJHL career but it stands out to me based on an exchange we had at the NHL draft last year.

Shortly after Tampa picked him third overall, I asked Drouin how he thought he might fit into the NHL and the Lightning lineup for the 2013-14 season. His response — and I’m paraphrasing from memory — was that he wasn’t sure of any of that because there were so many great players there, the NHL is the best league in the world, and it’s a huge step up from junior.

I didn’t think much of the comments at the time but it did strike me as a tad odd, given how much confidence Drouin usually has. I thought back to that interview when the Lightning shocked everyone last fall and sent him back to the Mooseheads for another season. The team brass said he just wasn’t ready to make the step to the NHL as an 18-year-old and those tepid, unsure remarks suddenly made more sense.

Hearing the self-assurance, almost defiance, in Drouin’s answers now makes it even clearer he is ready to make the NHL this time around. He also seems to have his mind set on hitting the ground running as a rookie and proving a point about just how ready he really is.

It’s also more proof the Lightning made the right decision, as tough as it must have been at the time. I’ve never heard of a player’s development being stunted by more seasoning in junior but plenty of careers have been ruined by being rushed to the next level.